Best Two Exercises for Increasing Vertical Jump

Photo credit from: leanitup.com/: Get UP! The Vertical Leap Workout Plan

A good vertical jump is a significant resource that probably all players have. For whatever sports vertical jump is used.

There are two main parts of exercise that could actually help to increase your vertical jump:

1. Increased force output

• Measures how much strength or energy can be applied to the ground

2. Increased rate of force development

• Measures how quickly force can be produced and applied

Since that our answer is in two parts, let’s take a look at both of these aspects separately.

Increased Force Output

Photo credit from: snoridgecrossfit.com/: Back Squat 4-4-4-4-4 & FT: Rows, Back Squats and Lateral Burpee (Over Barbell)

This sounds simple. It just means you should get stronger. But strength acquisition is a topic that can be overly complicated and drawn out all on its own. So we will look at the most simplified methods. Given our goal of increasing vertical jump height, we will focus specifically on lower body strength.

When developing lower body strength, the king of exercises is the back squat. Specifically, the back squat at a depth below parallel. Squatting below parallel with high loads has been shown to reap the most benefit in the vertical jump.

Rate of Force Development

Simply squatting deep does not help with increasing the rate at which force is developed. Deep squatting is primarily affecting the musculature, but in relation to power or rate of force development, we need to train the nervous system. This means we must focus on recruiting more of the high threshold units. These motor units are most easily recruited by increasing load while simultaneously trying to accelerate that load as quickly as possible.

Olympic lifts are commonly used to recruit these high threshold motor units. Since these lifts are more complex than many other exercises, a technique can limit the progress made. So focusing on a simplified derivative of the clean - the mid-thigh pull could be done. 

The mid-thigh pull starts in the same position as the hang clean and requires a triple extension of the ankles, knees, and hips yet do not require the catch that a clean does. Since it is so simple, you can focus strictly on adding weight to the bar, accelerating it upward as quickly as possible, and then letting the weight fall.

Right now, we’ve found exactly the combo of movements we are looking for: the best method of increasing force output and the best method of increasing rate of force development.

These exercises can be done up to twice a week.They can also be done within any training program. The only requirement is that these exercises be done early in your workout since they require force and/or power and any fatigue will inhibit this program’s effectiveness.

SOURCE:

breakingmuscle.com/: The Two Best Exercises for Increasing Your Vertical Jump

Why Increasing Vertical Jump is Important?

A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of raising one's center of gravity higher in the vertical plane exclusively with the utilization of one's own muscles; it is a measure of how high an individual or athlete can elevate off the ground from a standstill.

Photo credit from:anabolicsteroids.biz/:A Simple Vertical Jump Training Program

 We might be wondering if how really important is to increase our vertical jump, especially to the athletes. Well, vertical jump is much important in every sport, whether it’s a basketball slam-dunk, volleyball spike, soccer header or tennis jump serve, a vertical jump is a key skill for many athletes. And even if you're not an athlete, you must need to give focus or interest about this. For we never know that someday we become a sportsman or an athlete.

Vertical Jump helps young athletes elevate for jump shots over opponents. Good jumping ability will also help them to get their hands above the volleyball net for blocking shots. Heading a soccer ball is less dangerous when one child can get higher than another. And a jump serve helps create more racquet acceleration for a more powerful tennis serve.

Here's the kicker:

Vertical jump test can be used to assess your state of recovery prior to a weight-training, speed, or even practice session. If you over train your nervous system by performing an excessive volume of heavy weight or high- speed training, the fatigue will manifest itself first in your performance in movements requiring high-speed. You might not notice it much, but this type of fatigue will tend to show itself very quickly as a decrease in performance of the vertical jump. If this happens ideally you'll want to cut back slightly on the volume of your training session(s) to recover. One thing you can do is use your vertical jump as a barometer of how much volume and intensity you should use for a training session.

Photo credit from:ultimatestrengthandconditioning.com/:Testing and Evaluation within your Strength Program

 Simply warm up and get a sweat going and then perform a couple of vertical jumps. Compare your jump height to your normal "fresh" jump height and assess the results.

If the height is down 10% or more you should cut the volume in half for that session and cut the training intensity down by 10%. For example, instead of performing 16 total sets with an average load of 80% 1rm you might perform 8 sets with an average load of 70%, stopping each set well shy of failure.

If the height of your vertical jump hasn't increased or decreased simply carry out the training session as planned. If the height is up 10% or more you can increase the volume by 20% and the intensity by 5%.

Photo credit from: theexercisers.com/:THE VERTICAL JUMP TEST (SARGENT JUMP TEST)

 One thing to note is if you have recently completed an intense leg training session and have a lot of soreness your performance might temporarily decrease anyway so it's best to use this test either after an upper body workout or when you're experiencing little to no soreness.

SOURCES:

higher-faster-sports.com/: The Importance Of The Vertical Jump For All Sports

youthletic.com/: 9 exercises to increase an athlete's vertical jump

en.wikipedia.org/: Vertical jump